UK supergroup Flock are gearing up to release their much anticipated second album, Flock II. Bex Burch, Danalogue, Sarathy Korwar, Al MacSween and Tamar Osborn, who make up the project, had previously teased the record with lead single ‘Capillary Waves’. With the album arriving at the tail end of the month, Flock have let loose a second taste from it, the intoxicating and beguiling ‘Meet Your Shadow’. Speaking about it, Danalogue explains:

“Meet your own shadow is about delving into parts of yourself that you don’t necessarily want to look at, parts we don’t want to accept about ourselves, the darker aspects. Personally this was one of my favourite improvisations from our recording session, born from a series of compositional games, where we each got to lead a section. It has a sort of raw urgency and darkness that I tend to lean towards, so I took back to my studio later to give it some extra synths and production, to try and take it all the way, very happy the rest of Flock were okay with how it ended up!”

Listen to ‘Meet Your Shadow’ below. You’ll be hitting the play button the second it ends.

Flock II is out on October 25th through Strut Records

There´s wonderful news from UK supergroup Flock, the project that brings together a golden lineup of UK jazz stalwarts: Bex Burch (Vula Viel), Danalogue (The Comet Is Coming, Soccer96), Sarathy Korwar, Al MacSween (Maisha, Kefaya) and Tamar Osborn (Collocutor, Dele Sosimi, Unknown To Known). Following their self-titled debut album, which was one of our Album Picks of 2022, Flock are back with their second album, Flock II. The album was recorded in the Welsh countryside where “they crafted unique “jump-off” devices for each justifypiece, drawing inspiration from unconventional structures and atmospheres”, as the press release describes.

Flock II arrives on October 25th through Strut Records, and ahead of it the band have shared the first single, ‘Capillary Waves’, which serves as an exhilarating taste of what’s to come. Take a listen below.

In other related good news, Flock will perform live at London’s Jazz Café on October 18th, alongside Ethiopian legend Mulatu Astatke, as part of the 25th anniversary of Strut Records.

Flock is the exciting new project that brings together a golden lineup of UK jazz stalwarts: Bex Burch (Vula Viel), Danalogue (The Comet Is Coming, Soccer96), Sarathy Korwar, Al MacSween (Maisha) and Tamar Osborn (Collocutor). All involved in an array of phenomenal adventurous projects, they first got together for a Boiler Room, TRC and Night Dreamer streamed session during lockdown. The session attracted the interest of Strut Records who prompted them to create a new project and in summer 2020, the five musicians got together to record at The Fish Factory in London. Burch comments:

“I had been working solo, shedding my own preconceptions about my music, and simply sitting at my instrument asking myself, ‘what music do I like today?’ I wanted to share this process in a room with the others. Everyone was really busy and I had some time so I reflected on what framework that needed. I wrote texts as scores for the session and knew the emphasis needed to be on breathing and listening to each other. On the day, we sat in a circle, Sarathy and Dan led 30 breaths together and I chose a text for each play. It was a really magical day. Everyone was just so open.”

She continues:

“Improvisation is composition in itself, so although the music was freely improvised, we sometimes chose to stay on form and rhythm, repeating melodies and groove. As Dan commented on the day, we ‘murmurated’ and that’s how the name Flock came into being. The expansive 13-minute piece ‘How Many Are One’ on the album is the perfect example. It was like a flock of birds following an energy that already existed. A collective following and leading as the music developed.”

Lucky for us Flock are releasing a self-titled debut album on May 20th through Strut and we can already hear the wondrous and absorbing opening track, ‘Expand’. The single is offered with a visual accompaniment animated by Kai-Luen Liang.